Small business is the heart of the green economy
Published: 03 December 2018 Maggie Sloan, Marion Müller vom Berge, Sonya Ong
SEED's guest blog for the Green Economy Coalition in the lead up to the Ministerial Conference of PAGE (Partnership for Action on Green Economy) in Cape Town, South Africa, and the Green Economy Coalition's Global Meeting in January 2019. Read more
SDGs:
Longitudinal Study of Eco-Inclusive Enterprise Performance (Part II)
Published: 12 September 2018 Ben Akoh, Heather Creech, Leslie Paas
This report draws insights from a three-year longitudinal study of the performance of social and environmental micro enterprises and tackles two important questions. Firstly, whether and how micro and small social and environmental enterprises make contributions to social, environmental and economic progress within their communities; and secondly, what the enabling factors and barriers towards making such contributions are. Read more
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Case Study: Unique Quality Product Enterprise
Published: 07 September 2018
Unique Quality Product Enterprise (UQE) is an eco-inclusive enterprise located in Tamale in northern Ghana. Its business model is based on a market-leading approach to promote the production and processing of the cereal grain fonio. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Khainza Energy Limited
Published: 05 July 2018
Khainza Energy produces high-quality methane from organic waste obtained from farms and households and distributes it in affordable, recyclable cylinders along with cooking appliances. Khainza Energy incorporates local women, farmers, and youth along its distribution channels, creating value for consumers as well as local communities. Read more
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Celebrating Female Entrepreneurship on International Women’s Day 2018
Published: 08 March 2018 Amar Munnolimath, Zaina Batool
At SEED, we embrace the potential of female entrepreneurs and are committed to empowering women. We not only offer equal-opportunity employment and encourage flexible working arrangements to assist families, but also take data-driven action globally to support women entrepreneurs working towards a greener economy and to accelerate female empowerment, including through our past SEED Gender Equality Award scheme. Read more
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SEED Celebrates a Female-Led Enterprise on International Women’s Day
Published: 08 March 2018 Maggie Sloan, Sonya Ong
As we celebrate the achievements of women today, we present the female-led Unique Quality Product Enterprise as part of our launch of the SEED Case Study Series 2018. The new case study series that emanated from the SWITCH Africa Green project "Promoting Eco-Entrepreneurship in Africa", implemented by SEED, showcases how innoative eco-inclusive start-up enterprises in Africa shape sustainable development on the ground. Read more
SDGs:
Unique Quality Product Enterprise, a SEED Story from Ghana
Published: 07 March 2018
Unique Quality Product Enterprise trains marginalised women suppliers in agronomic practices to farm Fonio, an indigenous grain that has low water requirements and can withstand adverse weather conditions. The enterprise dries, de-husks, packages, stores and markets Fonio cereal products for household consumption. Read more
SDGs:
Transform, Innovate, GoSustainable
Published: 28 November 2017 Julia Rohe-Frydrych, Regina Treutwein
Coming up with new ideas is essential for the success of a business. Innovative enterprises are pro-active in solving problems, for instance, in reaching new customers or to refining their value proposition. An often unexplored opportunity for innovation is to integrate social and environmental dimensions into a company's business model.
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The 4 types of people who can help you grow your business using the SEED Relationship Mapping tool
Published: 18 September 2017 Kay Eunkyung Kang, Sonya Ong
Growing a business can be a tricky and intimidating process. Business owners are overwhelmed with different aspects to focus on. Should we invest in better customer experience, partnerships, staff wellbeing, or procuring more equipment? Read more
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SEED side-event at UN High-Level Political Forum 2017
Published: 10 August 2017 Arab Hoballah
The HLPF 2017 SEED side event on Innovative and Eco-Inclusive Entrepreneurship showcased the role of SMEs in achieving SDGs and was held on 13 July 2017 at the UN Headquarters, New York. Read more
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SEED Annual Report 2016
Published: 28 July 2017 Arab Hoballah, Christine Meyer, Jona Liebl, Kay Eunkyung Kang, Marion Müller vom Berge, Sonya Ong
This Annual Report guides you through the innovative ways that SEED has advanced in 2016 to serve as an active thought leader in the realm of eco-inclusive entrepreneurship for sustainable development, while also introducing to you this year’s SEED Winners that are all individually driving sustainable development forward in their communities and in their countries. Read more
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SEED West Africa Symposium 2017
Published: 28 July 2017
More than 150 key stakeholders from government, enterprises, financial institutions, the policy level and accelerator programmes from Ghana and Burkina Faso came together to discuss and develop innovative approaches and explore partnerships essential to the replication of business models in order to successfully contribute to inclusive green economy and sustainable development in West Africa. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Horizon Business Ventures Limited
Published: 12 June 2017
Horizon Business Ventures processes seed oil extracted from tree seeds and leaves and markets it to the local and international cosmetic industry. The enterprise builds capacity within local seed collection groups and thus offers employment opportunities through sustainable management of existing natural resources. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Kencoco Limited
Published: 12 June 2017
Kencoco produces and sells charcoal dust and charcoal briquettes from recycled agricultural coconut waste and resells clean cookstoves. The products are a viable low-cost alternative to environmentally damaging fuels such as firewood, kerosene and wood charcoal. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: RECFAM - PRIDE Pads
Published: 12 June 2017
RECFAM produces organic and biodegradable sanitary pads – PRIDE Pads – out of banana and plantain fibre for schoolgirls and women. Women are integrated into the whole value chain, receiving training and income opportunities. Read more
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How Burkinabe entrepreneurs are shaping a greener future
Published: 10 March 2017 Damien N. Somé
Have you ever heard of Burkina Faso’s “Green Brigade”? Picture teams of dozens of women regularly cleaning the streets of Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou at dawn! Many urban dwellers in the country’s capital have testified for the positive contribution of the green brigade to the cleanliness of the city. Read more
SDGs:
The Landscape of Eco-inclusive Entrepreneurship in Malawi, Mozambique and Namibia: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities
Published: 01 March 2017 Gabrielle Habberton, Mandisa Banjwa, Monique Davidson
One of the SEED focus areas for 2016 includes eco-inclusive entrepreneurship in Malawi, Mozambique, and Namibia. Eco-inclusive entrepreneurship is an important market-based solution for economies transitioning to sustainable growth trajectories while providing essential services for the marginalised populations of these emerging economies. This report is part of an effort to support the sector through improved research, building the track record for eco-inclusive enterprises and highlighting their ‘triple bottom line’ impact and contribution towards green growth. Read more
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Imagine and Replicate
Published: 15 February 2017 Ebenezer Kumi
Imagine thousands of low-income women farmers whose lands are degraded and infertile because of overuse. How can they continue farming to provide for their children and families? Read more
SDGs:
Turning challenges in impact investing into prototype innovations
Published: 05 December 2016 Kay Eunkyung Kang, Rainer Agster
Kenya, where our first Impact Financing Lab took place, is one of the global centres of impact investing! But even there, many challenges for deal flow exist… Read more
SDGs:
Spurring the replication of eco-inclusive enterprises – towards a collaborative integrative support approach
Published: 16 November 2016 Lina Frank, Mirko Zürker
At the 2016 SEED Africa Symposium in Nairobi Ligia Noronha, Director of the UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, underlined that “Replication is a key theme to foster green growth and sustainable development”. But replication demands targeted support at every stage, which calls for collaboration between diverse support providers and a strong ecosystem. Read more
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Why All Women Recycling considers replication as a new pathway to scale impact
Published: 10 October 2016 Lynn Worsley
“Be creative, be unafraid, and take that step off the mountain. I assure you it’s worth it.” This advice from Lynn Worsley, the founder of the successful eco-inclusive enterprise and 2014 SEED South Africa Award Winner All Women Recycling, encourages women who are considering founding their own social enterprise to go for it. Read more
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From innovative off-grid mobile solar power stations to the polymerised bitumen roads from recycled plastic - Meet the 2016 SEED Award Winners
Published: 28 September 2016
At SEED's largest annual international forum, the SEED Africa Symposium, SEED announced the 20 winners of the 2016 SEED Awards, today. These 20 outstanding eco-inclusive enterprises will be honoured during the international SEED Award Ceremony this evening. Read more
SDGs:
Training Business Development Service Providers to Boost Eco-Inclusive Innovations
Published: 14 September 2016 Rainer Agster
Working with more than 220 enterprises in 38 countries, we soon realized that although each enterprise is unique, topics are reoccurring. Instead of re-inventing the wheel each time, we put time and effort into ‘toolifying’ our support. Read more
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Case Study: All Women Recycling
Published: 07 September 2016
All Women Recycling (AWR) is a small business, based in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, that has created a unique product to address local social and environmental challenges. Read more
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From workshop to market in seven weeks
Published: 22 July 2016
The first steps as a startup are the hardest, especially for eco-inclusive startups in emerging markets. It all comes down to the right spirit and lion-hearted attitude. Read more
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